Related Stories

It wasn’t a huge amount of money — just six cheques totalling $310. But it shook Dr. John McNaught into action.

“The right thing to do is not a hard thing to figure out,” he says. “But sometimes you need a jolt from people. And for me, that’s what this was — somebody thinking of somebody else when, really, that family was suffering from the ultimate loss.”

McNaught runs Fertility London, a clinic that annually treats about 2,000 patients having trouble getting pregnant. And it’s often an expensive proposition; in the case of in-vitro fertilization, it can cost a couple about $10,000 for each attempt.

The cheques were collected in lieu of flowers at the funeral for a 36-year-old Sarnia woman who died of complications from childbirth after suffering for years from infertility. When the cheques arrived unannounced at McNaught’s Baseline Rd. clinic, he knew it wasn’t nearly enough to make a difference for a childless couple hoping to start a family.

But the gift from the Sarnia family who wishes to remain anonymous tugged at his conscience.

“I felt so overwhelmed by the gesture that I wanted to make sure it didn’t stop with just $300,” says the Fertility London medical director. “It’s really about taking the gesture and following it through.”

And so McNaught established Laura’s Wish. Guided by a committee and based on factors such as financial need and prognosis for success, the program will select one recipient next spring to receive a full cycle of fertility therapy. McNaught says he isn’t seeking donations.

“I realize $300 is not going to make a huge difference,” he says. “So whatever remaining money is required (to pay for the treatment), I’m going to supply personally.”

To be sure, it’s a generous gesture. But many people — particularly those who’ve never struggled to have children — will likely shrug their shoulders.

After all, pregnancy is a natural event, isn’t it? So what’s the big deal with folks who can’t seem to start a family?

“We often describe it as suffering in silence,” McNaught says. “I’ve seen people be relatively insensitive to those who are suffering from infertility.

“For those unable to conceive, I think we underestimate the amount of stress and hardship that people go through,” he adds. “I’ve seen people come close to bankruptcy trying to finance ­fertility therapy. I’ve seen marriages break apart, I’ve seen people lose their jobs over missed time (lost to clinic visits).”

McNaught says one in six Canadians will seek fertility treatment at some point in their life.

“It’s bordering on an ­epidemic,” he says. “A lot of people aren’t aware how huge a problem this is.”

But though many simpler fertility procedures are covered by OHIP, the most successful form — in-vitro fertilization — hasn’t been covered by OHIP since 1994.

“It’s one of those things that people don’t talk about,” McNaught says.

Couples hoping to adopt a child face daunting obstacles, he says.

“Not everyone is able to get pregnant, but I don’t think that people should be denied a family. . . . It’s a basic need.”